Packing container for fragile articles



July 17, 1934. F D G 51- AL 1,967,026

PACKING CONTAINER FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES Filed Jufy 25, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet 1 1934- F. D. GRAY ET AL PACKING CONTAINER FOR FRAGILEARTICLES Filed July 23, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PACKING CONTAINER FORFRAGILE ARTICLES Fred D. Gray, Herkimer, and Leon Mann, Mount Vernon, N.Y., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Holed-Tite Packing Corporation,a corpora.- tion of New York Application July 23, 1929, Serial No.380,446

14 Claims.

The present improvements relate, in general to packing for fragilearticles and more particularly to packing for bottles containingbeverages, such as ginger ale and the like.

A primary object, among others, is to provide a novel tray or receptaclefor bottles of the type indicated wherein the packed articles arecushioned throughout and protected along their periphery as well as attheir weaker points.

A further object is to provide a bottle tray which may be produced inone manufacturing operation and one which is provided with integralreinforcing and cushioning ribs or flanges along the edges of the bottleholding recesses.

Another object is to provide a receptacle of the character describedwherein the bottle holding recesses are of a depth greater than the formof a half bottle.

A further object is to provide a novel packing unit adapted to be usedin standard or other cartons or crates or in containers adapted to holda dozen bottles wherein packing, transportation and dispensing isfacilitated and the breakage of the packed articles reduced to aminimum.

Other objects and advantages of the present improvements will beapparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the accompanyingspecification and drawings in. which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a trayembodying the present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section on line3-3 of Fig. 1 Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of a portion of the tray;

Fig. 6 is a section through a container for a dozen bottles,illustrating one application of the present improvements;

Fig. 7 is a section, similar to Fig. 2, with parts broken away,illustrating a modified detail.

Referring to the drawings, the trays 10 are of sheet form and areprovided with a series of article receiving recesses 11 conforminggenerally to the shape of a bottle and arranged so that the neck andbody portions of alternate bottles are adjacent. This arrangement isillustrated in Fig. 1 and is desirable for economy in space,compactness, as well as to secure more even distribution of the weightof the articles. The tray, recesses therein, as well as the elementshereinafter described, are made integral with the sheet in onemanufacturing operation. The sheets are preferably made of felted woodpulp or other fibres on molds or dies and thereby are inherentlyresilient and elastic, due among other reasons, to the intimately mattedfibres. Due to their texture and form, therefore, the trays 10 serve ascushioning and protecting means throughout their entire extent.

The recesses 11 may be provided with dome shaped cushion members 12which may also serve as interlocking members for the trays after themanner set forth in the co-pending application of Leon Mann, Serial No.239,877, filed December 14, 1927.

It is notable that the recesses 11 conform generally to the shape of ahalf bottle and are slightly deeper so that their longitudinal edgesextend slightly above the horizontal medial line of a bottle. Along suchlongitudinal edges, the recesses 11 are joined by upstanding ribs orflanges 13, so that the peripheral edges merge and together with theprotruding ribs form relatively rigid reinforcing members along eachside of the recesses.

These reinforcing members are more clearly seen upon reference to Figs.2, 3 and 6 and it is notable that they are substantially thicker thanthe cross section of the remainder of the tray. Furthermore, these ribs13 protrude beyond the plane of a half bottle, so that they render theeffective receiving portion of the recesses somewhat greater than thedimensions of a half bottle.

While the ribs or flanges 13 extend along and in between the recesses,it is notable that a similar rib is provided along the border of the endrecesses and between them and the horizontal portions 14 of the trays.

It is known that breakage in bottles of the general shape in questionusually occurs at the shoulder portion where the bottle is weaker. Thepresent improvements accordingly provide additional cushioning andreinforcement at these points. The ribs 13 have portions l3 at theshoulders of the bottle shaped recesses, which are slightly thicker andprotrude to a greater degree, thereby serving as an added protection tothe Weaker portions of the bottle. Upon reference to Fig. 4, theportions l3 will be more evident.

The trays 10 have been illustrated with six bottle holding recesses,although that number -may be increased and diminished without departingfrom the scope of the improvements. In Fig. 6, a container 15, adaptedto carry a dozen bottles, is illustrated. The trays 10, two in number,are disposed back to back between the layers of bottles so that eachrecess 11 partially surrounds the bottles. This manner of packing thegoods has been found preferable, although it is apparent thatcomplementary trays might be placed along the bottom and top of thecontainer, or any other manner of packing employed.

Tests have shown that breakage in articles of this character areattributable largely to contact between bottles of a container ratherthan to contact with objects exterior thereto. The present improvementshave accordingly been designed to completely segregate the bottles, notonly by providing a cushioning tray between layers, but also byproviding the protruding ribs or flanges 13, 13*, between bottles of alayer. The manner of accomplishing this is clearly seen in Fig. 6, wherethe ribs extend beyond the horizontal medial line of the bottles andthereby serve as cushioning and reinforcing means between bottles of arow.

It is notable that the ribs 13, 13 bordering the recesses 11 aresubstantially triangular in cross section, this shape lending rigidityto the structure so as to withstand shocks. As heretofore noted, thesetriangular ribs are formed of intimately matted fibres, so that theytend to preserve their shape, but will yield under pressure, returningto their original form upon release of pressure. In this manner, anexcellent cushion effect is obtained, while crushing or collapsing isprevented by the thickness and shape of the walls.

'While the efficiency of the improvements is ascribed to the texture andform of the trays as specifically described, it is apparent that thegeneral form of the sheet and other elements thereof may assist inattaining the results. Tests, with trays of the type herein described,have shown a substantial decrease in the breakage of bottles, thepresent tray being Well over fifty per cent more efiicient than priorknown types.

In Fig. 7, a portion of a tray 10 is illustrated wherein the ribs 13protrude as previously described but in this instance they are hollow,the

bases of the walls of adjacent recesses being connected by webbing 16.An air pocket accordingly extends through the rib and assists in thecushioning effect of this member.

Due to the depth of the recesses 11 and the protruding flanges or ribs13, it is seen that the bottles are given no opportunity to roll or moveagainst their neighbors. Should a bottle move out of axial alignmentwith its recess, the shifting weight would cause a distortion or changein shape of said recess with the result that the bordering ribs would bepulled inwardly to grip the bottle and thereby retain it from furtherlateral movement.

Various modifications within the scope of the present improvements willoccur to those skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. A tray for packing bottles and other cylindrical articles comprisinga sheet of unfinished pulp material having bottle holding recessesformed therein said recesses being deeper than half a bottle, andreinforced portions connecting said recesses and sheet.

2. A tray for packing bottles and other cylindrical articles comprisinga sheet of unfinished pulp material having bottle holding recessesformed therein said recesses being deeper than half a bottle, saidrecesses being joined to one another along their longitudinal edges byreinforced portions.

3. A receptacle for bottles and the like comprising a sheet of materialhaving bottle holding recesses formed therein said recesses being deeperthan half a bottle, a cushioning and reinforcing rib interposing saidrecesses. said recesses merging with said ribs.

4. An article of manufacture comprising a sheet of material with aplurality of bottle shaped recesses said recesses being deeper than halfa bottle, contiguous edges of said recesses being united by thickenedrib portions.

5. An article of manufacture comprising a sheet of material with aplurality of bottle shaped recesses, the longitudinal edges of saidrecesses having upstanding cushioning and reinforcing ribs said recessesbeing deeper than half a bottle.

6. An article of manufacture comprising a sheet of material with aplurality of bottle shaped recesses, said recesses being deeper than ahalf bottle, the longitudinal edges of said recesses having upstandingribs, and Webbing connecting the lower portions of said ribs.

'7. An article of manufacture comprising a sheet of material with aplurality of bottle shaped recesses, the longitudinal edges of saidrecesses having reinforcing portions protruding beyond the plane of thelongitudinal axes of bottles packed therein.

8. In a bottle packing, a receptacle for an individual bottle comprising'a sheet having a recess substantially conforming 'to the shape of ahalf bottle, the longitudinal edges of said recess having longitudinallycurved portions protruding beyond the horizontal medial plane of abottle packed therein adjacent the shoulder thereof.

9. In bottle packing, a receptacle for an individual bottle comprising asheet having a recess substantially conforming to the shape of a halfbottle, the longitudinal edges of said recess protruding beyond saidhalf bottle limits, the edges at the shoulder portion of said recessprotruding to a greater degree than the remaining edge portions.

10. A tray for packing bottles comprising a sheet of unfinished pulpmaterial having bottle holding recesses of half bottle shape formedtherein, said recesses formed with alternate neck and body portions inline, and cushioning and reinforcing members protruding beyond saidrecesses and between same.

11. A tray for packing bottles comprising a sheet of unfinished pulpmaterial having bottle holding recesses of half bottle shape formedtherein, said recesses formed with alternate neck and body portions inline, contiguous edges of said recesses being united by cushioning ribsprotruding beyond said recesses.

12. An article of manufacture in combination, a sheet of unfinished pulpmaterial having bottle holding recesses formed therein said recesseshaving deep and shallow portions for accommodating the body and neckportions of a bottle, said recesses being deeper than the contour of ahalf bottle, and reinforcing means of non-uniform height along the edgesof said recesses.

13. A tray for packing fragile articles having elongated recessespositioned side by side for receiving articles in reclined position,upright separating ribs between adjacent recesses, the intermediateportions of such ribsbeing higher than the portions separating therecesses adjacent their ends.

14. A tray for packing fragile articles having bottle shaped recessespositioned side by side for receiving bottles in reclined position,upright rib portions along the sides of the recesses and between theends thereof, said portions extending above the medial line of a bottlereclining in a recess whereby to hold same by engagement with a portionof the'upper half thereof.

FRED D. GRAY. LEON MANN.,

Mil

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